The siren call of al-Qaeda has proved irresistible for some young Muslims, whether in Canada, the United States and Britain or in distant Muslim countries. At last an Islamic scholar with a worldwide reputation has acknowledged the confusion of some Muslim youth in an increasingly polarized world.
The 600-page religious edict written by Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri may or may not prove to be a tipping point in the Islamic world's views on terrorism. But it is a direct and powerful argument aimed at the young, and at all those whose silence or equivocal statements have been understood by the young as tacit approval.
Without qualification, without, for instance, using the excuse of "Western foreign policy made them do it," Dr. Qadri opposes terrorism under any circumstances, in all countries. (Some Canadian imams issued a fatwa in January against terrorism against North American targets.) "The slaughter of human beings in any religion or country, and terrorism in all its manifestations, are totally in contradiction with the teachings of Islam," he says. As his editor puts it, he "goes that crucial step forward" and says perpetrators are cast out of the Islamic fold.
A study of Muslim terrorists in Britain found that young, law-abiding males had turned very suddenly into adherents of terror, sometimes prompted by mentors. Something similar has happened in Canada, as seen in the trials of several Toronto-area Muslims who had sought to blow up southern Ontario installations, and might have killed hundreds of people.
Where does their confusion come from? A "negligible minority," as he sees it, "seems to give terrorism tacit approval. Instead of openly opposing and condemning terrorism, these people confuse the entire subject by resorting to misleading and perplexing discussions." Meanwhile, terrorism has become a routine affair, with the terrorists distorting and twisting the Muslim concept of jihad, or holy struggle against evil.
"This situation is causing Muslims, the young in particular, to fall prey to doubts and reservations."
Dr. Qadri, who once had a national television program in Pakistan, and has an international following, has been living in Toronto, and considers Canada an earthly paradise, another sign of his perceptiveness. When it comes to terrorism, he knows where he stands; and if the world is fortunate, others will take up his call.